What would a successful trade deadline look like for Maple Leafs? — and more

Chicago has already made a move.

On Feb. 23, NC State landed one of its biggest wins on the recruiting trail in recent memory. Fairhope (Ala.) St. Michael Catholic four-star quarterback Gunner Rivers committed to the Wolfpack.

The name is of course familiar, as Gunner is the son of former NC State star and longtime NFL QB Philip Rivers. Set to follow in his father’s footsteps, Gunner opted to lock in with the ACC program early.

On Monday, the Rivers duo made their way to Raleigh to watch NC State men’s basketball host Duke.

Rivers fielded some interest from the likes of Auburn and Texas, but he was trending to his father’s alma mater for some time. Last week, he discussed his decision in an exclusive interview with TheWolfpacker.com’s Noah Fleischman.

“How much they wanted me compared to the other schools was a big thing for me,” Rivers said. “Some other places were like, ‘Yeah, we want you, but we wouldn’t care if another dude came instead of you.’ But NC State was like, ‘We want you to be our guy for the future.’”

Gunner has had a record-breaking high school career and is coming off a junior season where he completed 208 of 290 passes (72%) for 2,813 yards, 44 touchdowns and just five interceptions. In the process, he led St. Michael Catholic to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the state title game vs. powerhouse Jackson.

NC State potentially eyeing big 2027 class

Rivers’ commitment is more than a feel-good story, too. He’s a blue-chip recruit, now checking in as the No. 117 overall prospect and No. 12 QB in the 2027 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies.

He’s one of four commits for head coach Dave Doeren and Co. to date. Homerville (Ga.) Clinch County three-star safety Kamarion Johnson, Raleigh (N.C.) Cardinal Gibbons three-star tight end Griffin Cockerham and Southeast Raleigh three-star running back Christian Freeman are also pledged early on.

Last cycle, NC State signed the nation’s No. 46 class, according to the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. It’s early, but the addition of Rivers could provide the Wolfpack with some serious recruiting momentum heading into the spring.

NC State has not signed a top-25 class in the internet recruiting era. Its highest-ranked haul came in the 2008 cycle, when it landed the No. 26 class that was headlined by four-star QB and eventual NFL veteran Mike Glennon.

Los Angeles Golf Club locked up the third spot in the TGL playoffs with a 6-3 victory over New York Golf Club Monday night, with three of the best golfers in the game proving their worth once again in the SoFi Center.

Los Angeles, which boasted the Nos. 3, 4, and 5-ranked golfers in the world in Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Collin Morikawa in their lineup Monday night, got off to a quick start and held on tight after a hard-charging push from New York in singles.

“Our entire team. We’re resilient. We love what we’re doing,” Morikawa said. “Tommy and I played this morning. (Justin Rose) was at (this week’s PGA Tour event in Orlando). We all came in and practiced together and just get ready.

“This isn’t something that we take lightly. We want to do this really, really well.”

Los Angeles opened the scoring after winning the first hole with the hammer thrown before it gave the lead right back after Morikawa missed a six-foot par attempt on No. 2. There was no blood in triples until Los Angeles went on a hot streak – winning Nos. 6, 7, and 8 to start to pull away.

New York had a chance to get back into the match on No. 9 after they threw the hammer with Morikawa’s drive in the rough. Matt Fitzpatrick had a 15-foot eagle attempt to win two points, but he couldn’t convert and Morikawa rolled in a five-foot birdie to tie the hole and keep their three-point advantage – leading 4-1 heading into singles.

Los Angeles’ top-ranked trio led more than 90 percent of the holes they’ve played as a group, but it came down to the wire Monday night after Matt Fitzpatrick rolled in a 24-footer from off the green for birdie to win the penultimate hole and put New York down just one point heading into the final hole of the match.

With the hammer thrown, there was not going to be overtime on this night – there would simply be one winner and one loser.

Cameron Young, long known as one of the best drivers in the game, was the opposite of that for New York on No. 15, unfortunately, as he hit his tee ball into the hazard in the most ill-timed of mistakes of the season.

Morikawa, meanwhile, had just eight feet left for an eagle on the last hole after a tremendous approach. In the end, Young conceded the final hole and the match.

“It seemed like all the matches, really other than the one that we won, kind of tried and get something going, hit some good ones, and either we’d hit a poor shot or the other team would hit one closer so just struggled to get the ball rolling. Felt like we were fighting all season,” Rickie Fowler said of New York’s second TGL season. “I wouldn’t say we played necessarily poorly. A lot of the guys just ended up playing better than us on the given nights.”

With the win, Los Angeles leapfrogged Atlanta Drive GC – the defending SoFi Cup champs – for second place heading into the playoffs, as Los Angeles won 26 total holes in the regular season versus Atlanta Drive winning 23.

Los Angeles heads into the playoffs having won two matches in a row after some early losses in the season. This was also a bit of revenge Monday for Los Angeles after they earned the No. 1 spot heading into the playoffs last year but were eliminated by the No.4-ranked New York in a semifinal upset.

“I think we’ve just played well. It was like an iffy start. I actually think we’ve had two tough matches the last two matches. I think we’ve had to play very, very well, and it’s definitely not been given to us,” Fleetwood said. “I’m not going to say it came easy to us, but we obviously came out of the blocks very, very hot (last year) and we sort of cruised through; whereas this year it’s been different, and I think we’ve shown kind of different qualities, if you like. We’re about to go about it a different way just having to start off slow and then gain momentum.

“But I don’t know if we do anything different. I think we’ve just played well.”

Los Angeles will look to continue its fine play into the playoffs in two weeks’ time, but for now, there is one final TGL match left in the regular season: a win-or-go-home matchup between The Bay Golf Club and Jupiter Links GC Tuesday night.

Noah Cates gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead late in regulation, but John Tavares tied it on the power play. Michkov and Zegras scored in the shootout to secure the win despite Auston Matthews and Max Domi failing to convert.

Goaltender Dan Vladar made 29 saves for Philadelphia, while Toronto's William Nylander scored the first shootout attempt. Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny missed the game with a lower-body injury.